Richard Attenborough displays the Oscars for best director and best picture for the biopic "Gandhi."

Photo: Fotos International

Richard Attenborough displays the Oscars for best director and best...

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(FILES) A picture taken on October 5, 2008 shows Sir Richard Attenborough attending Chelsea's premiership match against Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge football stadium. British director and actor Richard Attenborough has died aged 90 after a long illness, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) said on August 24, 2014. AFP PHOTO/CARL DE SOUZAMobile and website use of domestic English football pictures are subject to obtaining a Photographic End User Licence from Football DataCo Ltd Tel : +44 (0) 207 864 9121 or e-mail accreditations@football-dataco.com - applies to Premier and Football League matches.CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images

Photo: Carl De Souza, AFP/Getty Images

(FILES) A picture taken on October 5, 2008 shows Sir Richard...

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(FILE PHOTO) British Actor And Director Richard Attenborough Dies Aged 90 LONDON - APRIL 09: Lord Richard Attenborough attends the Galaxy British Book Awards held at the Grosvenor House Hotel on April 9, 2008 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

FILE - In this Monday, April 11, 1983 file photo, British actor and director Richard Attenborough holds his two Oscars for his epic movie "Gandhi" at the 55th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Ca.,. Acclaimed actor and Oscar-winning director Richard Attenborough, whose film career on both sides of the camera spanned 60 years, died on Sunday, Aug. 24, 2014. He was 90. (AP Photo, File)

Photo: Associated Press

FILE - In this Monday, April 11, 1983 file photo, British actor and...

London -- Acclaimed actor and Oscar-winning director Richard Attenborough, whose film career on both sides of the camera spanned 60 years, has died. He was 90.

The actor's son, Michael Attenborough, told the BBC that Sir Richard died Sunday. He had been in poor health for some time.

Prime Minister David Cameron issued a statement calling Sir Richard "one of the greats of cinema."

"His acting in 'Brighton Rock' was brilliant, his directing of 'Gandhi' was stunning," Cameron said.

Sir Richard won an Academy Award for best director of 1982's "Gandhi," only one of many highlights of a distinguished career as actor and director.

With his abundant snow-white hair and beard, Sir Richard was one of the most familiar faces on the British arts scene - universally known as "Dickie."

He appeared in a many major Hollywood films, directed a series of movies, and was known for his extensive work as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and other humanitarian causes.

As a director, Sir Richard made several successful movies, from "Oh! What a Lovely War" in 1969 to "Chaplin" and "Shadowlands" in the 1990s. But his greatest success was "Gandhi," a film that was 20 years in the planning and won eight Oscars, including best picture.

The generation that was introduced to Sir Richard as an avuncular veteran actor in the 1990s - when he played the failed theme park developer in "Jurassic Park" and Kris Kringle in a remake of "Miracle on 34th Street" - may not have appreciated his dramatic range.

A small, energetic man with a round face that remained boyish even in old age, he was perfectly cast at the start of his career as the young sailor or airman of British movies during and after World War II.

In his 1942 film debut as a terrified warship's crewman in "In Which We Serve," the 19-year-old made a small part into one of the most memorable roles in the movie, which won the Best Picture Oscar.

In 1947, Sir Richard gave one of the best performances of his career as the menacing teenage thug Pinkie in "Brighton Rock," the film version of Graham Greene's novel.